Meet the team
Martin Frings, Production Director
Martin spent 3 years learning the craft and science of galvanics at The Vinyl Factory in London, before setting up Stamper Discs in 2018. He’s also operated EMI, Toolex and Viryl presses at different plants – so he has a 360 degree view of stamper excellence. He has a collection of around 3000 records and 1200 tapes – mainly punk, but with a few surprising forays into Nashville.
Elsie Chadwick, Customer Service
As a big supporter of live music, Elsie’s vinyl collection started to grow as an additional way to support her favourite artists. Her music taste has been influenced by her music-loving family and spans across various genres. Elsie’s interest in music also found its way into her studies, where she researched the emergence of the UK punk movement for her MA dissertation in Modern History.
Sharon Coke, Customer Service
East London born and bred, discovering Housemartins at 13 led Sharon north to university in Hull where she ended up working at the Adelphi Club and DJing at The Welly as well as playing bass guitar/songwriting in a band she co-founded. A self-confessed vinyl junkie, Sharon has been buying and collecting vinyl for over 35 years. Since moving to Sheffield Sharon has been a radio presenter and is a regular volunteer with Sensoria Festival. Having also worked for a number of years in music retail, Sharon has gone from playing vinyl to selling it and now to the manufacturing of it. Her search for her dream job is over.
Paul Rudeforth, Production
Paul’s love for vinyl began as a teenager digging through his parents’ records for hidden gems. After trying his hand at guitars, keys, and film soundtracking, he accepted his skills lay in the more technical aspects of music. A college course in music technology inspired moves into djing and remixing, promoting and booking for venues and festivals across Sheffield and beyond. While he is also a qualified snowboard instructor, he is sure his future now lies in the vinyl industry.
Andrew Smith, Production
Andrew joined us in 2021, having been DJing in Sheffield for around 20 years, as well as promoting live shows and tour managing the odd band. He once nearly opened a record shop, before realising he would probably just try and keep all the records to himself. He’s still an active DJ, but seldom listens to albums as he prefers to play 7″ vinyl. A varied taste in music from Dub, Soul, Rhythm & Blues, to Punk, Surf, Thrash Metal and Hip Hop.
Dale Miller, Production
Dale works in both our production and customer service areas. With a degree in Music Technology, he’s previously worked as a timber barn erector and a freelance audio engineer. He started playing guitar as a young teenager, and has since enjoyed producing and releasing his own music under the artist name ‘Matador Cheeks’. He’s most at home in a recording studio with friends, snacks and time to kill.
Peter Frings, Director
Peter ran a successful marketing services business for many years… but then succumbed to the temptation of helping Martin set up a new galvanics business. Peter’s vinyl collection, which included many gems from the 70s and 80s, was ‘inherited’ by Martin many years ago, who promptly sold it off to fund a trip somewhere.
